The Commoner.
WILLIAM J, BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL, 11, NO. 12
Lincoln, Nebraska, March 31, 1911
Whole Number 532
Senate Reorganization
The democrats of the senate have a duty to
perform at the very opening of the extra session,
namely the reorganization of that body. Tho
democrats are still in tho minority, but they
will have the selection of the democratic mem
bers of the various committees, and acting with
the progressive republicans, they can not only
secure increased representation on the com
mittees, but they can make the committees
represent the sentiment of the senate. There
are pome standpat democrats in the senate whose
sympathies are with the standpat republicans
rather than with the progressive republicans
but there are not as. many of these standpat
democrats as there were before the fourth of
March, and there will probably not be as many
two years from now as there are now.
The standpat democrats and republicans are
now in control of the best committee assign
ments, and they may expect to keep them in
spite of the fact that they no longer represent
the sentiment of a majority in that body. It
seems likely to be a question of seniority
versus public interest a question of individual
ambition versus the welfare of the people. It
is not difficult to determine which side to take
in such a controversy. It may flatter a' man's
vanity to allow him to misrepresent his party
or his country, but it Is not democracy. If
publie officials even senators are public ser
vants; if they are selected to do for the people
what the people want done then there can be
no question that committees should be made up,
not merely to pay personal compliments, but
tdcarryiiieTreople's will. . -
Tha ru)e of seniority does not respect states
or even sections; it rests upon the length of
the service and is therefore purely a personal
asset. If one holding an important committee
appointment dies, the office does not, accord
ing to the rule of seniority, go to his succes
sor but to the oldest in the service. It is based
on the theory that efficiency increases with
length of service, but suppose the senator
opposed his party? In that case the more effi
cient he is the more harm he can do his party.
Even the rule of seniority lecognizes the right
of the majority party to rule, and the chairman
of a committee, no matter how long his term
of service, takes a subordinate place when an
other party comes into control of the body. That
is just the situation that confronts the senate
now; a" change has taken place in that body.
The stand-pat sentiment which controlled it in
the last congress gives way to a progressive
sentiment unless there are enough stand-pat
democrats to offset the progressive republicans.
A change in the dominant sentiment in the
senate ought to reflect itself through a change
in the committees. The change is as marked
as if it were a change in parties, for the dif
ference between a progressive republican and
a stand-pat republican is much greater than the
difference between tho stand-pat republican and
the stand-pat democrat. If the seniority rule
has invoked an excuse for keeping the com
mittees under control of the stand-pat element
of the two parties, the voters who have elected
progressives to the s'enate will be greatly disap
pointed. The worship of the letter should not
be permitted to destroy the spirit of represen
tative government. To allow seniority to con
trol in the selection of committies would be
a case where "the letter killeth."
Men are naturally inclined to follow the line
of least resistance, and the progressives will bo
promised praise and commendation and will
be described as eminently fair if they will only
betray their constituents and leave the stand
patters in control of the senate, but that is not
what the progressives were elected for. In many
cases they were selected because they were
essentially different from the senators or can
didates whom they defeated.
It is not sufficient that a senator shall vote
right on questions that come before him. The
committees largely determine what questions
shall come:, before the senators. The commit
tees, therefore, should bo brought into harmony
with the controlling sentiment of tho senate;
thd progressive in both parties owe this to
the rising tide which demands remedial legis
lation. If the standpat element in tho two par
ties unite to prevent a reorganization of tho
committees, tho progressives should insist that
the union shall bo open and in the light so
that the country will know what is going on.
It will help the people to act more intelligently
at the next election. This is no time for sena
torial courtesy; the people mean business, and
they mean that the senate shall help to attend
to the business of the whole public. Reorgani
zation of the senate is its immediate need; re
forms will then be possible.
making such satisfactory progress. Judge
McCabe is one whoso place will bo hard to fill.
Feaco to his ashes, sympathy to tho sorrowing
family!
WHY NOT RIDDER?
Mr. Herman Ridder is being mentioned In
connection with the Now York senatorship. Why
not? The following is a sketch of his life, pub
lished in the press dispatches:
Herman Ridder is a native of Now York city
and has lived there all his life. He was born
of German parents on March 6, 1851, at 400
Greenwich street. At the age of eleven ho went
to work in a hat store and soon after secured
a position with a Wall street firm, where ho
remained until his thirteenth year, when ho.
entered the employ of the.. Tradesmen's Fire
Insurance Company. His connection with that
company lasted for fourteen years, the last
seven of which he spent as an agent.
In 1878 he left the insurance business to
take up newspaper work and founded tho
Katholisches Volksblatt. In 1886 he established
the Catholic News, which in a short timo was
recognized as th.J(iadmgJt9jlP-paDi?.rof the
country.
Mr. Ridder became a stockholder in tho New
York Staats-Zeitung in 1890, and was elected
a director and the treasurer and manager. These
offices he filled until he became the president
of the corporation, which office he now holds.
Mr. Ridder has taken an active part in poli
tics as an independent democrat, and he has
long been an ardent advocate of tariff reform.
He was a prominent participant in the Cleve
land campaigns and in the various reform move
ments in New York City. He was treasurer of
the democratic national committee during the
li08 campaign.
Ho is. a trustee of the Emigrant Industrial
Savings Bank, the Mutual Life Insurance Com
pany, the German Hospital and the Catholic
Protectory, and a member of tho New York
City Publishers' Association. He is a director
of tho Associated Press and the president of
the American Newspaper Publishers' Associa
tion. Mr. Ridder is a member of the Chamber of
Commerce and of tho Manhattan, Liederkranz,
Arion, Catholic, Reform, Democratic, City, New
York Press, German Press and Hardware Clubs
and also of the Deutscher Vorein.
Much time has been devoted by Mr. Ridder
to charitable work. Ho is a member of tho
Charity Organization Society, the Isabella
Helmath, the German Society, the St. Vincent
de Paul Society, the Legal Aid Society and a
number of similar organizations.
He is a member also of the American Natural
History Society and of the Metropolitan museum
of art and is connected with other societies of
like character.
"Mr. Ridder was presiding vice-president of
the Hudson-Fulton celebration commission and
as s"uch he took a very active part in that
great celebration.
JUDGE McOABE DEAD
Death has again entered Mr. Bryan's circle of
friends, and stricken down Judge McCabe, of
Willlamsport, Ind. The distinguished demo
crat and jurist, whose death we are called upon
to chronicle, was a member of the resolutions
committee in the national convention of 1896,
and during the years since he and Mr. Bryan
have been co-laborers they have borne their
disappointments together when reforms have
been postponed, and they have rejoiced together
as during recent years those reforms have been
THE INCOME TAX AMENDMENT
Tho amendmont to tho constitution specifically
authorizing an incomo tax,Jias been ratified by
tho legislatures of twonty-flvo states in all. Tho
Chicago Tribune says: "So little has been said
of lato about tho incomo tax constitutional
.amendment that it is worth whilo to call atten
tion to tho progress it has made toward ratifi
cation. Up to date It has had tho approval
of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, North
Carolina, California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho,
Montana, Iowa, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ne
vada, Wisconsin, Vermont, Texas, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Geor
gia, Maryland and Mlsslssipl."
As wo shall have forty-eight states when
Arizona and New Mexico are admitted-1 as they
will bo within a few weeks it will require
tho affirmative vote of thirty-six states to make
the amendment a part of the constitution. Moro
than half of tho states, as will bo seen, have al
ready acted favorably, leaving eleven moro
necessary to tho adoption of the amendment.
Of the twenty-three states remaining, eight.
New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vir
ginia, West Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana and
Utah, have rejected the amendment. In several
of theso states, however, one branch of tho
legislature favored ratification and in Now
York ratification failed by a single vote. It is
quite likely that Arkansas and Virginia will
yet ratify, leaving only nine votes to be secured
from the' states that have not acted. It is en
tirely possiblT'thal WwYork may ratify TfifiT
year, there being a now legislature in session.
If Arkansas, Virginia and Now York ratify, only
eight more states are necessary and Colorado,
Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan,
Arizona, Now Mexico and Florida ought to
furnish them. But as some of theso states may
fail and as New York, Arizona and Virginia
may not reverse themselves, it behooves the
friends of the amendment to get to work in
every state in which no action has been taken
or in which the amendment has been rejected.
No timo is to bo lost.
What Is tho matter with New Jersey? The
state has a democratic governor and a demo
cratic legislature. Do the democrats of New
Jersey stand on the last democratic national
platform? That platform declared for an in
como tax amendment and not a vote was cast
against it in the convention. Ratification may
turn on one state. Is Governor Wilson willing
that his state shall have the unenviable distinc
tion of turning the scales against so just a
reform, demanded unanimously by the demo
cratic party, endorsed already by a majority of
tho states and sure to be endorsed by states
representing a majority of the people? And
what does Maine say? Is her democratic victory
to count for democracy or against it on this
important issue? Can Governor Foss secure
ratification at tho hands of the Massachusetts
legislature? And New York the country can
forgive delay in electing a senator if the income
tax amendment is ratified.
In the states that have not acted the voters
should at once write to their governors and
representatives. In the states that have acted
adversely to the income tax, clubs should be
formed and all candidates for the legislature
should be pledged to vote for ratification. Hero
is a great epoch making reform within reach
tho people can secure it if they will only act.
They should act NOW.
FRIENDS AT HIS BEDSIDE
It should afford ex-Mayor Tom L. Johnson
some comfort to know that a host of friends are
his companions in thought and sympathy as he
struggles with the serious disease that confines
him to his homo. They read the papers each
morning for words of encouragement and pray
that his life may be spared many years to con
tinue the noble work which has given him so
conspicuous a place among his fellows.
k.
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